Professor GD Agarwal dies after 111-day fast to save Ganga

GD Agarwal, a former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur and a man who devoted his life to the cause of saving river Ganga, died today. Agarwal was on a fast-unto-death for the last 111 days.

Agarwal, who took on the name Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand in his later life, sat on a similar fast in 2012.

Then, his fast lasted nearly two-and-a-half months at the end of which the then Manmohan Singh-led government at the Centre was forced to give in to Agarwal's demand that a meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) be held.

Agarwal, born in 1932 in Shanli, retired as a professor of environmental engineering from IIT Kanpur.

He then served as a member-secretary of the Central Pollution Control Board.

In 2012, he formally renounced the world and adopted the name Swami Gyanswaroop Sanand.

Mother Ganges: a journey through India's holy river

(Slideshow provided by Stars Insider)

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